Naturaliste Charters

Offer - 10% off Whale Watching tours from Dunsborough and Augusta

Naturaliste Charters provide personalised eco-adventures that showcase the spectacular coastal and marine environments of the stunning South-West of Western Australia, while contributing to research, understanding and conservation of the unique and special part of the world we call home. Their world-class experiences aim to educate and inspire, and their guests leave with memories for a lifetime.

Naturaliste Charters is the first company to introduce whale watching tours to Western Australia’s South-West. For over 20 years, their family owned business has had the privilege of providing their guests with the opportunity to experience some of the ocean’s rarest and most spectacular wildlife amid stunning landscapes and scenery in Australia. Their unique location allows them to offer a year-round whale watching experiences.

Dunsborough

Experience the southern migration of the great whales from the picturesque seaside town of Dunsborough. This incredible journey is the longest migration of any mammal on earth. From the beginning of September, humpback whales return to the to the feeding grounds of Antarctica. In October, see blue whales in the bay as they too head south. The southern migration is special. In the protective care of their mothers, calves leave their birthplace in the tropical north and make the epic trek south to Antarctic waters for the first time, an incredible journey for a baby just months old. The calm, protected waters of Geographe Bay offer a welcome respite to the weary wanderers, an opportunity to rest before crossing an entire ocean for the first time.

As you drift peacefully past the stunning shores, see fur seals resting between fishing expeditions on the rocks. Look out for sea eagles and ospreys soaring overhead, while petrels and shearwaters skim the surface and diving gannets drop from the sky to capture fish in the depths. Pods of common and bottlenose dolphins often join their tours, surfing alongside, or treating you to stunning aerial acrobatic displays.

Augusta

The picturesque seaside town of Augusta is located on the south-west coast of Western Australia at the southern of the world renowned Margaret River Wine Region. Augusta’s western beaches form Cape Leeuwin, where the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean meet.

Augusta is the best location in Western Australia to view humpback whales as they make their northern migration through the Ngari Capes Marine Park. From late May, Flinders Bay is misted with the constant blows of these magnificent ocean wanderers as they pause to rest and socialise. Males compete for the attention of females, and engage in a spectacular variety of active behaviour that includes breaching and the thunderous slaps of tails and flippers. Rare Minke and Blue Whales are also sighted as they too head north.

From July, another spectacular cetacean arrives. Flinders Bay is one of only a handful of major calving areas along Australia’s coastline for the endangered Southern Right Whale. In the shallow protected waters of the bay, the next generation are born. The whales rest and play in the bay before their epic crossing of the Southern Ocean to the feeding grounds of Antarctica as winter slips into spring.